Aglaya Oleinikova, a young artist and activist from Russia, was part of the residency with Silvia Federici, prominent political theorist, writer and feminist activist, and a group of feminist artists. scholars, educators and practitioners. This session was organized by Free Home University together with The Feminist Research on Violence Platform (NYC), the residency took place in Parma, Silvia’s native city, from June 10th to 16th, 2019.

The group lived together in Art lab, political and cultural social hub where students and activists self-organize together and in solidarity with migrant families. The days and nights where spent reading and discussing Silvia’s new texts and ideas that would converge in the book Beyond the Perifery of the Skin. Rethinking, Remaking and Reclaiming the Body in Contemporary Capitalism.

Besides reading and discussing, the group engaged in visits to local organizations, plenty of communal cooking under the magnolia tree, walks through the city, film screenings, assemblies, and sharing.  Each participant contributed with different practices from somatic activities to painting sessions, filming and laughing workshops, from text analysis to embodying the struggles through a feminist lens and a politics of care.

Aglaya took her notes in the form of drawings, composing a graphic diary that reconstructs some intimate and familiar moments of this encounter.

In its final form, the diary will accompany notes, texts and reflections from the other participants.

Stay tuned.